


Hellhole

by 1treehill



Category: Mindhunter (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-11 00:46:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15303735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1treehill/pseuds/1treehill
Summary: A murderer leads the agents to a cave called Hellhole for reasons only known to him. Holden volunteers to follow.





	Hellhole

The West Virginia police, along with two FBI agents, Holden Ford and Bill Tench, followed mass murderer Kyle Jacobs to the opening of Hellhole Cave in the North Fork Mountains. They had been tracking the killer since he escaped prison in Washington, DC. Jacobs had been expertly eluding police for days, crossing state lines, clearly having a destination in mind. Nobody expected that the man’s long road would end in a large, deep cave known for its unexplored features, cold temperatures and for being a hibernaculum for a variety of species of rare bats.

That last fact, plus the 156-foot drop down a rope at the cave’s only entryway, was most likely the reason for the 6 men’s current stasis. Holding large flashlights in the cool evening air, they stared down what was basically a deep hole and thought in silence.

Bill felt a low buzz of amusement at the scene. He smirked and looked over at his partner. Holden seemed seriously intent on the conundrum and how to solve it.

“Are we sure he went in there?” a young officer asked no one in particular.

“Yes, we’re sure. He was seen entering, plus he left his rope dangling, you idiot,” an older officer, clearly the other man’s superior, said in exasperation.

Bill spoke up to ease the tension. “Look, this is a cave. It’s a hole in the ground. As far as we know, there is no other entrance or exit. He has to come back up, right? Why don’t we wait?”

The others looked unhappily at Bill. The officer in charge, who gave his name simply as Donald, answered, “That could take days. Or maybe he’s dead. He could have fallen. I think one of us should go down there, check it out.”

“But, like, who?” It was the young officer again.

“I’ll go,” Holden said quietly.

Bill stared at the young man like he’d just grown an extra head. “What do you mean, you’ll go? You agree with him?”

Holden looked up, startled that Bill was addressing him, kicking him out of his own thoughts. “I mean, I’ll go. I’ve done some caving in the past. Jacobs could be hurt, needing help. The paramedics are on their way right?”

“Yes, Holden, so we can wait for them as well,” Bill explained in a tone just short of condescending.

“No, I’ll go down and see. There must be something in there that Jacobs felt he needed more than an easy escape,” Holden pondered aloud.

“Maybe money. Or drugs,” offered another officer.

“Not drugs. Money possibly, though it would have to be quite a lot of it to make this pitstop worth it. I mean, he most likely assumed we’d catch up with him here, and unless he knows of another exit, he realized he’d be trapped as well,” Holden said quietly.

“Where are the paramedics and firemen?” Donald asked impatiently.

“This area’s not exactly simple to get to,” Bill answered.

“I’ll go in, see if I can track him. If he’s gone far, I won’t follow him. Don’t wanna get lost,” Holden said, not waiting for Bill’s approval anymore.

The young officer removed his jacket and offered it to Holden. “You’ll need this. Your overcoat won’t do anything down there. I know two things about this cave— it’s colder than most caves and it’s got a lot of bats.”

“Thank you,” Holden said, clearly surprised.

“Wait a minute, kid,” Bill interrupted. “We won’t be able to use walkie-talkies down that deep. What if you disappear like Jacobs did?”

Holden smiled. “Then I guess you can borrow Donald’s jacket and come get me.”

“Son of a bitch,” Bill muttered under his breath. He watched as Holden carefully put on his leather gloves, desperately trying to think of something else to say.

“All right. I won’t go far, I promise, Bill. I’ll tug on the rope to let you know I made it down okay.”

With that, Holden was striding over to the cave opening, zipping up his borrowed jacket.

Bill and the police officers just stared at Holden, not quite believing he was actually doing this.

“Holden, be careful, please. I really don’t want to have to go down and find your dead body, okay?” Bill shouted.

The other men looked at him with shock.

“He knows what I mean,” Bill said sheepishly.

The young officer shouted at the last second, “And watch out for bats!”

Holden took a deep breath and looked down into the cave opening. The rope seemed to drop into unknowable darkness. He rubbed his gloved hands together, more out of nervousness than cold. He sat down on the edge of the hole, and grabbed the rope with both hands, trying to remember how to climb a rope from both training and when he’d done it for recreation.

Holden began to slide his body down into the hole, holding onto the rope with a death grip. His weight caused his hands to slip maybe a foot down, and for a brief moment he felt like he was falling uncontrollably. But soon his shoes found purchase on the rope and his hands gripped again. Slowly he made his way, counting off an approximate ten feet at a time. Ten, 20… Soon he was at 140. Fifteen more feet. He was now in total darkness, the kind of dark so complete your eyes start to fill in the lack of stimuli with swaths of light.

Finally his feet touched ground, and he found his footing on the rocky, moist surface. He tugged gently on the rope to signal his safety. Holden couldn’t get his flashlight out fast enough to satisfy him. He had no fear of bats, but turned out he had a fear of complete darkness.

Holden switched on the flashlight and swung the wide beam around the cave. What he saw took his fear away and replaced it with awe. The rocks were jagged and raw and amazing looking, but were nothing compared to the thousands of bats hanging off the walls. Most were curled up, but some were clearly awake and even staring at him, or more likely, his flashlight’s beam.

Holden made a more thorough sweep with his light, searching for signs of Jacobs, but all he saw were bats and rocks. Then he noticed something unusual. A shape that didn’t fit in. He walked quickly towards it, and suddenly the ground gave way under him. Holden felt himself fall hard into a large pool of water. He accidentally inhaled some water, came up sputtering and coughing. He held onto his flashlight as best he could, but then he saw a sharp rock coming at him, then sudden, true blackness.

When Holden next opened his eyes, he was still half in the water, his upper body somehow on dry rock. He must have pulled himself halfway out before he passed out. He felt cold and heavy and completely exhausted. And his flashlight was either destroyed or turned off somewhere.

Holden was shivering violently, but he was still aware enough to realize he had some kind of head injury. He was dizzy and nauseous. Then he became aware of the pain at his right temple. He reached up with a shaking hand and felt ripped skin and a hell of a bump. He assumed blood was pouring out, but couldn’t see where the water ended and the blood began .

Finally finding the energy, Holden pulled himself completely out of the water and managed to prop his back up against a wall. After a few deep breaths, he started feeling for the missing flashlight with his hands. Just as he was about to give up, he felt the reassuring plastic on the edge of the water hole. For a few seconds he couldn’t control his trembling hands enough to turn the switch on, but then finally a click and beautiful light filled the cave.

The first thing Holden saw was the body of a man floating at the edge of the water hole. He didn’t have to check to know it was Jacobs. But also, he couldn’t leave him there, floating. It seemed somehow cruel. So, gathering his remaining strength, Holden stumbled over to the body and getting halfway back into the water, he pulled Jacobs out completely.

Holden bent over and breathed deeply, feeling drowsy as he watched the fog come out of his mouth with each breath. He shook himself out of his daze and looked Jacobs over. He was already bloating a bit, which didn’t help Holden’s nausea. But Holden noticed Jacobs was gripping something tightly in his right hand. Curious, Holden slowly pulled each finger back until a charm necklace was revealed.

Feeling like this was somehow wrong, Holden nevertheless removed the necklace from Jacob’s fist and looked closely at it. There were the letters K and N on the outside. When opened, it revealed a picture of a couple clearly on their wedding day. The man was obviously a younger, happier Jacobs.

Holden felt a pang of sadness and wistfulness. But then his physical condition made itself known to him. He just had to sit down. Or lie down. Either one, he didn’t care. Just so he could rest.

He walked clear of the water and the body and sat down hard. In a distant corner of his mind, Holden realized that he wasn’t shivering or really all that cold anymore, and that was maybe a bad thing. But he wasn’t sure. He wondered if the woman in the photo was still alive to mourn Jacobs, or if her loss led Jacobs down this road full of carnage. Holden thought of having someone who loved him like that, who he loved so much, and he giggled. The sound echoed off the walls, and he heard the flapping of a few bat wings.

Holden wondered when he got drunk, because he certainly felt like he was. He knew he was in bad shape, could now see how much blood was still pouring out of the wound on his head, assumed intellectually that he now had hypothermia. Yet he felt rather calm and relaxed, unworried. Yes, he must be drunk. And all he wanted to do was sleep.

“Holden!” That sounded like Bill’s angry voice. Why was Bill always angry?

“Holden! Where are you?”

Suddenly Holden snapped awake, remembering. “Bill, be careful! There’s a large pool of water there! Jacob and I both fell in!”

Quiet, then, “Holden, I see it. I’m coming around it. It’ll take me a while, but I’ll get there. Are you okay?”

Holden considered the question. “Um, I hit my head pretty badly when I fell. There’s a lot of blood. But heads bleed a lot. And I think I’m drunk.”

More silence. Then Bill said, “What? Holden, stop talking shit. But keep talking so I can find you.”

Holden went on, “Oh, yeah. Jacobs is dead, He must have fallen worse than me. He was floating in the water when I woke up.”

“Holden!” Bill yelled.

“What? I was just pausing,” Holden complained.

“Yeah, you paused for, like, a minute,” Bill said with anger and concern in his voice.

“That’s impossible, Bill,” Holden answered. “I just took a breath.”

“What else is wrong with you, Holden?” Bill asked, clearly getting closer.

“Nothing. I was shivering cold for a while, but now I’m not. I’m just really tired.”

“Wake up, Holden!” Bill sounded very pissed off.

“Sorry. Why won’t you let me sleep? Oh, I got Jacobs out of the water. I think he came here to get something he left before he started killing people. A charm necklace with a picture in it of him and his wife. It’s really romantic if you think about it.” Holden’s words were becoming slurred.

Bill understood completely what Holden’s problem was. Of course, it could also be due to the head injury, but all the symptoms pointed to severe hypothermia. As long as he could keep Holden awake until paramedics arrived, he should eventually be okay, but Bill was getting very worried.

“Holden, keep talking. I’m really close by now,” Bill informed his partner.

There was no reply.

“Holden, you piece of shit! Wake up and talk to me!” Bill yelled in his best military voice.

“What the— I’m right here, Bill. You don’t have to shout,” Holden whined.

Bill looked down and saw Holden in front of him, slumped against a rock wall. The right side of his face was covered by a sheet of blood. He looked horrible.

“Holden! God, you’re a mess. Open your eyes, kid. Just try to keep them open,” Bill instructed.

“I can’t, Bill. I’m too tired,” Holden whispered.

Bill glanced at Jacobs’ body, then returned his attention to his barely alive partner. “Kid, I need you to talk at least. So I know you’re awake.”

“Talk about what?” Holden asked breathlessly.

“Tell me about your childhood. You’ve never told me anything about when you were a kid. I mean, more of a kid than you are now,” Bill said.

“When I was a kid, I was a horrible person,” Holden said without hesitation.

“What do you mean?” Bill asked as he took a handkerchief and held it to Holden’s wounded temple.

“Ow, that hurts. Stop it, Bill,” Holden said petulantly.

“Why do you say you were a bad person when you were a kid?” Bill asked, half paying attention.

“I didn’t kill animals or set fires, Bill, so don’t worry about that.”

Bill chuckled. “Well, that’s a relief. What was wrong with you?”

The long silence that followed made Bill think Holden had finally passed out, but it seemed more due to thoughtfulness as his next words were, “My parents just didn’t like me. I didn’t have many friends. Or girlfriends, as you know.”

“Hey, kid, that doesn’t make you a bad person. You grew up okay, right?” Bill smiled.

“That’s not funny, Bill,” Holden answered seriously.

Bill was speechless for a change. He noticed that Holden’s borrowed jacket was soaking heavy with water. “Hey, Holden, let’s get this jacket off. I know you’re cold, but this is doing nothing for you.”

Removing the jacket from Holden’s body was like undressing a sleepy toddler. Bill could feel how freezing cold Holden’s flesh was, and he looked back up at the cave entrance with worry and impatience.

“Kid, the paramedics were having trouble getting here, but they’ll be with us soon. You hang on, okay?”

“I’m okay, Bill. It’s nice of you to worry. I’m not used to people worrying about me. It’s kind of nice,” Holden muttered.

Bill knew, as a basic rule of basic training, that the best way to warm a person up is with another’s body heat. But he couldn’t quite figure out a dignified way to do that. He cared about the kid, sure, and the last thing he wanted was for him to suffer in any way. But he felt… awkward about getting physically that close to the man. Holden obviously didn’t have the same problem, always getting into Bill’s personal space, whether it be on his hotel bed or in an airplane seat. But Bill wasn’t that way. Even with nobody there with them to pass judgment or make jokes, he found it difficult to make the move.

“Holden. Holden!” Bill shouted.

“What?” Holden asked, barely audible.

“I need to warm you up somehow. That means I’m gonna have to put your body next to mine. Okay? Is that okay with you?” Bill said gruffly.

Holden’s eyes opened a slit. “You mean, hug me?”

“No, Holden. I mean share my body warmth with you.” Bill answered.

“I’m okay with that, Bill. I don’t think you are though,” Holden muttered with his eyes closed again.

“Holden, open your eyes!” Bill yelled.

There was only silence. “Holden!” Still no answer.

“Fucking… shit…” Bill muttered as he took off his jacket and clambered down to sit next to Holden. He checked the kid’s pulse, and it was very slow. Bill wrapped his arms around Holden’s torso and arms, trying to get as much body contact as possible.

They stayed like that for a while, with Bill occasionally trying to verbally rouse Holden, but failing.

Finally Bill heard the welcome sound of footsteps, people clambering down the rope.  
Bill peeled himself quickly away from Holden and stood up. He warned them, as Holden had with him, of the drop into the water, and soon the paramedics and firemen were at their side.

The paramedics began treating Holden immediately, looking at his head wound and wrapping him in blankets and strapping him to a moveable gurney.  
Bill watched all this with a heavy feeling in his heart. It was fear and also a bit of shame.

Finally, after IVs were started and oxygen was given, they pulled Holden out of the cave, gurney and all. Bill followed directly afterwards.

Outside, the officers all congratulated Bill and told him they were arranging for the removal of Jacobs’ body from the cave. Bill barely responded, only wanting to know how Holden was doing.

“He’s going to be okay. He has a concussion and hypothermia, and he’s not gonna feel very good for a while, but he’ll recover,” a paramedic told Bill, who sighed with relief.

The paramedic continued, “You did a good job of keeping him warm and conscious while you could.”

Bill just stared at the man, then shook his head and answered, “Thanks.”


End file.
